High speed internet access Q?

[Jeff Weston]

Hey guys,

I just got a lovely notice in the mail from Comcast. In addition to stating that they have bought out AT&T broadband, they are also raising the rates for non cable TV subscribers from $42.95/mo. to $56.95/mo. If I subscribe to their cable TV services, I will continue to get the same rate for intenet. Frankly, this is tantamount to extortion.

I'm a happy Directv subscriber with the gold package which gives me every channel for about $90. It's expensive, but it has always worked, I've never waited for a repairman and it has every channel I could ever want and more. The cable does not offer many of the channels that I routinely watch.

So, I have two choices and am looking for some recommendations from those who have broadband. I can keep the cable and get their "basic" local channels for $6/mo. for 6 months and who knows what after that, or I can pitch the cable internet and go the DSL route.

FWIW, I routinely get 1710/265 kbps on the cable and I've got a PC and a mac networked. For the DSL, my home is 12,600 ft. from the CO. I'm thinking it may be worth the extra to keep the cable for the performance since I log into my server at work with large data transfers and I'm not sure if the DSL will be up to snuff.

For those still with me, thanks for your advice. If nothing else, I just wanted to bitch about the cable company and am reminded yet again why I went with Directv.

Thanks!

[TObject]

I had a hell of a time finding a descent DSL service for my office (as cable was not available). I had to switch the phone company, and then I had to cancel one DSL service that worked terrible and go to a different provider. Now I have DSL that works relatively well, but still not quite as good as the Cable Internet I have at home. I am paying about $70 a moth for the DSL, and about $50 for the cable.

[Jeff Weston]

Is your DSL line fixed at up and down speeds (like I have at my office. You get exactly, no more and no less than you pay for)? If it's like the home DSL's that say "about" 1.5 down/256 up, what do you actually get?

Frankly, for a business DSL connection, $70 sounds awfully cheap. I have my office line through XO communications with 384 up/down with 15 fixed IP's and it costs something like $225/month. Am I being ripped or am I missing something?

Thanks!

[BlueJeeper]

Originally posted by Jeff Weston

If nothing else, I just wanted to bitch about the cable company and am reminded yet again why I went with Directv.

I and many others around here have had the same experiences ever since @Home collapsed. What makes me mad is that I am caught in a pricing structure intended to switch folks from satellite TV; I don't have satellite, don't have cable TV, and don't care to have either. That is peanuts, however, compared to the poor customer service I've recieved over the years from @Home and my current cable provider. Over time, as faster, viable alternatives arise to compete with cable broadband, IMO the migration away from cable broadband will leave an enourmous vacuum for these cable companies in a relatively short period of time. And it all will be because of their crappy customer relations. Of course, it likely won't matter that customer relations of the next set of broadband providers won't be any better. Such is the nature of the communications industry. The next big thing gets the cheese.

[TObject]

The advertised speed on that DSL package is 1.5 Mbps - 3.0 Mbps download/384 Kbps upload, 1 fixed IP (I don't need more on DSL, the server that runs web sites is in a data center with redundant fast connections). One IP is all I need, as I have my own subnet. For Internet access, the office computers are connected through the router and a firewall. I also got a camera sitting on that IP (on it?s own port), so I can peek what?s going on, when I am not around.

At $225 a month you are getting dangerously close to the T1 line prices. Not the best or the fastest T1, but still...

I'll run a speed test tomorrow on my DSL.

Here are the test results of my home cable Internet connection, with this test:
http://www.dslreports.com/stest?loc=1

2003-03-18 23:41:51 EST: 1986 / 347
Your download speed : 1986790 bps, or 1986 kbps.
A 242.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 347614 bps, or 347 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

The home connection feels less latent than the DSL at work.

[cbassett]

Keep the cable.
Comcast has some very aggressive plans for updating the networks that ATT (and other markets) let slip into the darkages.
The performance you're getting now on cable is just the tip of the iceberg of what [DOCSIS] cable modems are capable of with recently ratified specifications. Good, big pipe, things are to come.

[Jeff Weston]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll keep the cable. It was a dog for the first 6 months that it was online but has worked well for the last year and a half. AT&T actually treated me well and customer service was good when I needed it (roadrunner service before it sucked). It is nice to hear that Comcast will improve things still.

Home:
2003-03-19 01:34:48 EST: 1674 / 239
Your download speed : 1674703 bps, or 1674 kbps.
A 204.4 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 239880 bps, or 239 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

Work:
2003-03-19 01:37:23 EST: 323 / 305
Your download speed : 323363 bps, or 323 kbps.
A 39.4 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 305110 bps, or 305 kbps.



Now, I'll have to revisit the connection at the office!

Thanks!

[TObject]

Here are the test results of my DSL connection at work:
2003-03-19 13:03:45 EST: 1281 / 327
Your download speed : 1281999 bps, or 1281 kbps.
A 156.4 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 327359 bps, or 327 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

[mrblaine]

I am not sure what all this means, but it did ask me to add this to their record speed table or something.

2003-03-19 13:20:47 EST: 3254 / 187
Your download speed : 3254722 bps, or 3254 kbps.
A 397.3 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 187423 bps, or 187 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

[Art Welch]

From work I get:

2003-03-19 14:34:20 EST: 18682 / 15384
Your download speed : 18682614 bps, or 18682 kbps.
A 2280.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 15384615 bps, or 15384 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

Wish I had that speed at home!

[TObject]

You dick!

Here is what I get on my web server:

2003-03-19 16:10:36 EST: 19589 / 27459
Your download speed : 19589403 bps, or 19589 kbps.
A 2391.2 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 27459954 bps, or 27459 kbps.

Your upload speed is much faster than down.. have you tweaked?
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!